When I think of someone I haven’t seen for a long time. Or someone I will never see again. I see their hands. My mind pictures the shape of their nails. The length of their fingers. Slender. Wide. Rounded or squared. The curve of their wrist. The gestures they made.

Unique. Personal.

But they change. Our hands.

Fingers bend with an arthritic curve. Skin tells of our days in the sun. Scars. Lines. Creases. Spots. Yes. They change. And yet, there’d be no mistaking them. We would still know them anywhere. And to whom they belonged.

And that’s true for us. We bend. Curve. Digress. Succeed.

Scar. Fail. Fall. Fly. Hurt. Heal.

And change.

Because nothing ever stays the same. Even if it seems so. Not our hands. Not us.

But we will always reach for the familiar. Seek the uniqueness. Strive to see the recognizable.

The memorable. The unforgettable.

We’ll always look for what we understand. We will always know each other. Even through continuous change. Because despite sometimes believing we want things to stay the same, we thrive on growth. Diversity.

Spice.

The things that make us look closer. Use our minds. Feel. Find. Connect.

The things that give us a hand…to hold on.

I really don’t watch that much TV so ignore the remote and focus on the fact that I was brave enough to post this extreme close-up of my unmanicured mitt. It was a spontaneous shot. ;0)

I blogged this post over on my new Hazy Shades of Me site and let me tell you, it’s all crickets. Granted, it was a Saturday evening, but there’s gotta be someone out there besides me with nothing to do on a potential party night, right?

Abracadabra

I’ve managed to perform a magic trick. And, because I’m not a good magician, or a magician at all for that matter, I won’t be breaking any wizardish ways when I tell you what I did and how.

It happened, somewhat, by accident. I was just kicking back, playing my enchanted flute as one does and suddenly, you all stood up, as if in a trance, and followed me over to my new website. It was, after a few clicks, a couple of downloads, an export, an import and a generous dousing of fairy dust, as easy as rattling off a few spellbinding lyrics in the shower.

Now, don’t be shocked. As I said, it all just happened so quickly and sort of, unexpectedly. Oh, I admit it had been on my mind lately because, well, you may have read that I attended a Blogging Conference at the beginning of this month. That is where I sat in on a “microsession” with a WordPress expert and it was her advice that put the idea in my head. She told us that at .org we are much more in control of our site, much less restricted and, as a result, able to have a lot more fun. (This is yet to be determined)

So, as I say, the decision was definitely already brewing. My cauldron was bubbling and steaming, however things weren’t fully seasoned yet. But this is where the surprise comes in. The spell overtook even me. I became light-headed and when I came to, PRESTO KAZINGA & POOF, we were all under one roof, kneeling at the great org’s feet. (You should be taking notes, people. I just morphed from a magician to a witch right under your nose)

Anyway, that’s my big news. All of you are now following me on hazyshadesofme.org … unless you just followed me on .comin very recent days. That’s right. Eight of you were, through no fault of your own, a little late to the under-advertised party. Yes, there are eight stragglers left hanging all by their lonesomes over at .com

This is because you followed me post mystical import and, as we know, no good mamma wants to leave even one precious duckling behind. For this reason, I’d love it if you made the mortal (now that the spell has ended) effort to swim over to my (apparently) much brighter side.

I know it’s a lot to ask and if the mere thought of this is exhausting for you, I will look into stoking the fire under the now cold pot of water and see if I can’t conjure up another batch of magic to fly you over here myself.

Although hazyshadesofme.org is still in need of a good scrub and polish, I will be posting here from now on and hope we can all continue the pretty cool bond we currently have simmering over the coals.

And now, in case they have no idea they’re home alone, the last eight to make the leap are as follows:

Are you sitting down? If not, you’d be best to take a seat. This may come as a shock, but two people unfollowed me on Thursday. It’s not like I keep mad track of these things, but I did notice this. You see I’ve only ever had someone unfollow me once before now. I dunno…wordpress people just don’t generally seem to unfollow and I don’t have that many followers to begin with, so when one leaves, I feel it. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.

These unfollowings happened to coincide with my posting of Bird of Paradise. Within an hour of that neat-o little snippet, I was down two. I know exactly what you’re thinking…shut the front door!

Now, why they chose to leave me is of course, a mystery. Maybe they like belly button rings, maybe they have one, maybe…they wish I had one. Or perhaps, they just thought the whole story, or my writing, stunk. Maybe both. Maybe none of the above.

I’m not privy to the elements that led to their decision, but what I do know is, Bird of Paradise is a work of fiction. It’s made up entirely of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails. It is, in no way, a statement of my opinions on piercings, people who do or do not have them, men with terrible timing and thick skulls or women who pretend to be something they’re not in their relationships. To each his own, I say.

I take whatever floats in on that free-running stream I call a blessing and let it flow from my fingertips. Does it cross my mind before I hit publish, whether or not people will like my work? Absolutely. And then I press the button.